Critiquing Bush
I wish to start what I hope will be calm dialog about the speech the president gave Sunday night. I will state my questions without name-calling and I hope those who respond will do the same. Let us all assume everyone writing in is a person of good will who loves America.

Make a difference
It was with great satisfaction that I read in the Juneau Empire of Sam Guthrie's decision to run for a position on our local school board.

For better or worse?
Webster's Dictionary defines "crisis" as "the turning point, for better or worse." The Capitol City Fire and Rescue is indeed at a turning point. The question is, "is it for better or worse?"

Words used negatively
The first two paragraphs of your article (Sunday's Empire) about the Lake Dorothy Hydro project make it appear the hydro company made a payment to the state in a last desperate attempt to get the project permitted.

Emergency drill
Do you know what to do when you are driving down Egan Drive and notice an emergency vehicle with lights flashing coming up behind you? You are supposed to slow down, move to the right shoulder pull-off lane, and STOP!

Greenpeace
On behalf of Greenpeace and particularly the crew of the M.V. Esperanza, I want to thank the people of Juneau for the warm reception we received during our time there. Close to 800 people came to see our ship and throughout our stay. We met Alaskans who made us feel welcome, even if they didn't always agree with us.

Retro Bill brings anti-drug message to Juneau students
With his black hair combed up into a pompadour at least four inches high, and a pink shirt collar turned over his black, checkered jacket, Bill Russ may have turned heads in the decade that inspired his look.
As television personality Retro Bill, appearing at Glacier View Elementary School Monday while on his Alaska tour, he was certainly different. He was also cool.
"I am not Elvis," he said in answer to a shout from about 170 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders as he bounced out in front of a Drug Abuse Resistance Education program assembly.

Heavy rains clog culverts
Nearly three inches of rain fell on downtown Juneau between Sunday morning and Monday morning, causing a shoulder on Gastineau Avenue to wash out and a gravel slide on Thane Road.

Fast-ferry dock slated for Auke Bay
The state is planning construction of a dock in Auke Bay to accommodate the new fast ferry Fairweather, but construction plans do not provide the facilities necessary to homeport the vessel in Juneau.
The state Department of Transportation originally planned to homeport the ferry in Sitka and make daily runs to Juneau beginning in May 2004.
But those plans were uprooted in July, when DOT announced it might homeport the vessel in Juneau and make runs to Lynn Canal five days a week and to Sitka two days a week.

Photo: Basketball star returns
Former Juneau-Douglas High School basketball star Carlos Boozer, now with the Cleveland Cavaliers, hands 1-year-old Ryan Lent Jr. an autographed basketball in a tent outside the Subway sandwich shop in Ketchikan.

New tourism group aims to promote compromise
A new group has invited 200 people to join an effort to find some common ground on tourism issues in Juneau.
Collaboration Juneau, a private nonprofit group with a board of directors including tourism supporters and critics, is forming a panel of stakeholders to study and discuss tourism issues and make recommendations to the city.
"The hope is to get as many people from diverse segments of the community to be part of the stakeholder process," said Juneau Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Todd Saunders, who is co-chairing the group with Paula Terrel, a bed-and-breakfast owner and Thane Neighborhood Association activist.

Gas authority asks for money
JUNEAU - The head of the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority will ask lawmakers for $3 million to push ahead with work on a state-owned gas pipeline and liquefied natural gas facility.

No attorney shows for murder defendant
The last attorney to stand beside Denni R. Starr in court said he was "disappointed" she appeared in court Friday without legal representation on second-degree murder charges.
"If I had been in town, I would have come up anyway," Philip Pallenberg told the Empire Monday. He explained he had been told by the statewide Office of Public Advocacy that it would handle the case and he was out as Starr's court-appointed attorney. He said he had informed Juneau Superior Court Judge Larry Weeks in August after Weeks denied a request to reduce Starr's bail.
As it turned out, no defense counsel showed up for Starr's scheduled hearing Friday. Weeks ordered the Office of Public Advocacy to show cause why it shouldn't be held in contempt.

Douglas Bridge proposal wins city approval
Reworking lanes on the Douglas Bridge could begin as soon as next year, following city approval Monday night of state plans to reconfigure the roadway.
After hearing objections from bicyclists and commuters as well as explanations from a state official, the Juneau Assembly voted 5-4 to approve the state Department of Transportation plan, which would add a third, reversible lane for vehicles and eliminate existing bike lanes.
After the vote, opponents met and decided to hold a protest bicycle ride across the bridge at 4:30 p.m. today.

My Turn: An offer for North Slope gas
Alaska is now presented with a one-time opportunity to market its natural gas as liquefied natural gas (LNG) to the West Coast market, resulting in financial benefits to the state ranging from $500 million to $1 billion per year over the life of the project. This one-time opportunity will go away if the state does not act quickly.

Skagway Invitational
Results from the Skagway Invitational high school cross-country running meet held Saturday in Skagway. The course was 5 kilometers (3.1 miles). All teams are varsity, except the Juneau-Douglas junior varsity.

Bears rebound to No. 2
The Juneau-Douglas High School football team moved back up the state's rankings when the Anchorage Daily News/Alaska Coaches Football Poll was released on Monday.

Palmer Invitational
Results from the varsity races at the Palmer Invitational high school cross-country running meet held Saturday at the Michael Ja

Sports Happenings
Friday, Sept. 12
 Juneau-Douglas High School football - The Crimson Bears host the defending state champion Bartlett Golden Bears for their final home game of the regular season. Varsity teams play at 8 p.m. and JV squads go at 5 p.m. at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park.

Heard's attack powers Juneau
Senior Julie Heard produced a sparkling .690 attack efficiency for the weekend to lead the Juneau-Douglas High School volleyball team in a pair of three-game sweeps over the Sitka Wolves, as the Crimson Bears opened up the defense of their Class 4A state title.

Sports In Juneau
Friday, Sept. 12
 Juneau-Douglas High School football - The Crimson Bears host the defending state champion Bartlett Golden Bears for their final home game of the regular season. Varsity teams play at 8 p.m. and JV squads go at 5 p.m. at Adair-Kennedy Memorial Park.

Alaska Digest
ANCHORAGE - A minor flaw in state hunting regulations could lead to a major upheaval in the ongoing dispute over subsistence.

Photo: Flood in Fairbanks
Cameron Granger plays in the mud this weekend in front of his previously flooded home outside of Fairbanks. Granger, his mother and three other siblings were displaced from their home by floodwaters from the Chena River.

Preservation group at odds with Army
ANCHORAGE - Site Summit operated for 20 years above Arctic Valley Road in Anchorage with an around-the-clock crew and a mission to blast Soviet bombers from the sky.

Fund cuts may hurt job-retraining group
A Ketchikan-based organization that helps struggling commercial fishermen obtain training for work in the maritime industry may be in dire straits due to decreased federal funding.